


Deadline

by Anonymous



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Anxiety, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Insomnia, OfflineTV - Freeform, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:15:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28913700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Michael's worried about his new video deadline to the point of subconsciously sacrificing his health, prompting Lily to help out where she can."They both knew one hug wouldn’t automatically fix the entirety of the situation, but it certainly helped."(please don't just go off this summary, I suck at making summaries lol)
Relationships: Lily Ki/Michael Reeves
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18
Collections: Anonymous





	Deadline

**Author's Note:**

> This work is purely fictional, however if anyone in the story expresses their discomfort in fanfiction, it will be deleted immediately. Also please ignore any spelling/grammar mistakes >.<

Lily haphazardly rolled over in a mess of blankets, undoubtedly having stolen them from Michael in her sleep. She rubbed at her eyes in a weak attempt to ignore the bright sunlight dancing across their room. She really was not a morning person.

Pawing around for her phone, Lily squinted at the time illuminated on the screen. It was nearly mid-day. She sighed. _So much for her New Year’s resolution to wake up earlier._ Feeling as though she was being watched, she ignored the build-up of notifications and put her phone down, glancing over to where she hoped Michael was just waking up.

Lily startled when she saw his eyes stare at her. No, it was more like he was seeing through her. Slightly glazed over, Michael's bloodshot eyes blinked through his glasses. She made a mental note to remind him later about taking them off before bed so the thin frames wouldn’t bend or break. His eyelids were heavy and the bags under his eyes were dark as ever. Michael looked like he would fall asleep at any moment.

The muscles in his shoulders were visibly tense and he was curled up in a ball, tightly hugging his knees to his chest, subconsciously trying to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible. _Maybe, if he stayed_ really _still, Lily wouldn’t notice the vacant look in his eyes. Or better yet, his brain would finally left him sleep._ Lily stirred and shifted, lightly covering him with more of the blanket, an apologetic yet guilty look on her face for stealing it in the first place.

Lily noticed how he’d been more anxious recently. Although she couldn't pinpoint when it had started to get this bad, she guessed it was around the time when his sponsor for his new YouTube video had dished out the strict deadline. His sleep schedule had never really been healthy, but Michael went into overdrive and the more frequent all-nighters – whether it was his choice or not – were certainly starting to take a toll.

"Hey," Lily whispered, eyes squinting so she could just make out the worry lines on his forehead as he continued staring off into space, mindlessly biting his lip. He was clearly deep in thought. "Did you get any sleep?"

Michael had been up in the early hours, terrorising people on public rust servers with his friends; she was sure she’d hear all about it later. Although Lily knew he enjoyed it, she couldn’t help but notice how he used it as an escape. An escape from anything and everything, really. _Couldn’t sleep? Might as well play games…_ Lily of all people knew how easy it was to lose yourself in game and spend hours and hours away from the real world. At times, games like League, Valorant, Rust, Minecraft, Bloons TD – whatever it may be – were certainly more appealing and provided good distraction.

Lily often heard Michael refilming scene after scene in the garage for his video, each take evidently getting worse as he got more frustrated when it just _wasn’t working_. She often interrupted before he could get too worked up, convincing him to step away and take a moment to breathe. But they both knew Lily couldn't be there 24/7 - she loved Michael but obviously she had her own life and projects to do; her art, music, voice-acting and streams wouldn’t do themselves. Plus, it wasn’t healthy for them to be together for every minute of every day.

As his video deadline grew nearer, Michael’s days adapted the same routine. He worked on his video, only taking breaks to procrastinate with video games or eat with Lily when she insisted he should take better care of himself. He was grateful to have someone who seemed to care more about his health than he did, as normally even the most basic human requirements would simply slip his mind when he began to spiral.

Lily remembers how exhausted he looked when he emerged from the garage to join everyone in the kitchen yesterday morning, another can of ice-cold Ninja Melk in hand (he knew it was unhealthy, but caffeine was the only way he was functioning and standing upright right now). He awkwardly laughed off the concerns his housemates ‘subtly' dropped.  
"Dude I know your sleep schedule’s fucked, but shit, you really need some sleep. You look like death," ~~Goblin~~ Yvonne casually remarked. Michael was about to stutter excuses but thought better of it, taking another sip of his energy drink instead. It’s not like anyone would’ve believed the lies anyway.

Michael avoided Lily’s gaze as she handed him a bottle of water and snatched away the caffeinated drink before he could even comprehend what was happening. His eyebrows knitted together, and he opened his mouth to protest, but one look at Lily’s raised eyebrow and expression told him that she was going to win this one, no matter what he said. Sulkily, he stumbled over to the spare seat next to Scarra on the couch, pretending to watch the anime playing on the TV. Scarra nudged an open bag of vege chips in his direction, to which Michael took a handful and started nibbling on them, only now realising just how hungry he was.

Lily watched him from where she was playing with Temmie and talking with Yvonne in the kitchen, taking account of how little sleep he had gotten recently. He'd even started ‘secretly’ borrowing some of Lily’s makeup to try hide the contrasting dark circles under his eyes. Michael, unsurprisingly, knew next-to-nothing about how to apply it, but looking in the mirror, he thought he did an okay job and appeared a little more awake than he actually was. He knew Lily wouldn’t have minded and he could’ve just asked her to help, but he already felt guilty enough and didn’t want her to worry more than she already was. He still felt like shit but it was the least he could do. He was an adult. He could handle himself.

However, Lily wasn’t blind (at least when she was wearing her glasses) and no amount of concealer could fool her. She’d noticed the blotchy, off-coloured patches under his eyes – did he seriously think that their skin tones were the same? If that wasn’t enough evidence, the concealer-coloured fingerprints left behind all throughout her makeup bag and all over their shared bathroom surely did the trick. Still, she played dumb and didn’t mention it, knowing he’d say something in his own time and there was no way she’d get him to talk when he was being this so damn stubborn and worried if his video would be done in time.

Lily’s thoughts drifted back to the present as her eyes once again took in the sight before her.  
"Honey," Lily said a little louder this time. There still was no response, as Michael looked straight ahead, his breathing faster than it should've been. She reached out and tentatively placed her hand on his shoulder. His skin was warm against her palm, and she frowned when she realised he was shaking a little. It was only when she moved closer to the point where they could feel one another’s breathing that Michael seemed to snap back into the world of the living, and his eyes darted around the room as he took in his surroundings.

"Honey, Michael, are you okay? I can practically hear that brain overthinking," Lily whispered, carefully gauging for his reaction. She carded her fingers through his hair comfortingly and he leaned into her touch. "You're a bit out of it."  
"Oh," Michael's voice cracked, eyes looking downcast. "Sorry. I- uh- I'm..."  
"Hey, no, just relax. Did you sleep?" Lily replied, trying to keep her voice soothing and not accusatory. Michael closed his eyes and hesitantly shook his head. She didn’t want him to feel bad – it wasn’t _entirely_ his fault it had come to this. Everyone always put so much pressure on him, nagging him for content, whether it was YouTube videos, Tweets, streams or just randomly appearing in his friend’s videos. He was _tired_. Yet he couldn’t let his mind and body rest when everyone always wanted something from him. He felt like he was on autopilot.

Sighing (out of love and concern, not annoyance, of course), Lily carefully removed his glasses and leaned over to place them gently next to her own on the bedside table, before bringing him impossibly closer underneath their warm cocoon of blankets, hugging him tight. Michael hummed, wrapping his arms around her middle and burying his head into her neck, where a few tears fell silently.  
"Who’s my little epic wepic poggy woggy?" She teasingly murmured into his ear, smiling when Michael groaned to try hide his laugh, barely audible from where his face was hidden.  
"I love you," he yawned against her skin, clearly calmer and no longer trembling in Lily’s arms.  
"Love you too. Always," she promised, slowly stroking his hair. Lily delicately kissed his forehead as his breathing evened out and sleep finally came.

They both knew one hug wouldn’t automatically fix the entirety of the situation, but it certainly helped.

**Author's Note:**

> Good morning/day/night. I hope you're doing okay. Thanks for reading ^-^


End file.
